Luca Marini ‘impressed’ Honda engineers by doing something Marc Marquez never managed at Misano

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Luca Marini delivered another strong performance for Honda at the San Marino Grand Prix last weekend. At what is effectively his home race, Marini delivered a pair of sixth-place finishes.

Marini suffered a dislocated hip, fractured sternum, collapsed lung and knee ligament damage while testing at Suzuka in May and missed three weekends. But despite the severity of those injuries, his form since he returned has been excellent.

The run has included three top-six finishes and three straight Q3 appearances. With 56 points in six weekends, he’s climbed from 16th in the championship to 12th.

Honda signed Marini at the end of the 2023 season to replace legendary rider Marc Marquez, who had abruptly left for Gresini. Marini only put 14 points on the board in his debut season, but he’ll come to be viewed as the brand’s lead rider if he maintains his current form.

Luca Marini addressed Marc Marquez’s weakness at Misano’s Curvone corner

Data showed that Marini was the quickest rider in the field in qualifying between turns 11 (Curvone) and 14 (Carro), a sequence of fast right-handers. P6 was a personal best for the season, and the second-best single-lap showing from the Honda factory team this year.

Marini told MOW that he ‘impressed’ Honda engineers, who had previously lost time in that section during the Marquez era. The Spaniard is known to favour left-handers, particularly after his injury.

Marquez did win three times for Honda at Misano before back-to-back triumphs on the Ducati.

“I definitely had more corner speed there than anyone else,” Marini said. “Honda was also quite impressed, because they’d always struggled at that point in the past with Marc Marquez, so today they saw my data and said, ‘Ah, good job, good job.”

Marini’s teammate, Joan Mir, withdrew from the San Marino Grand Prix weekend on Saturday due to discomfort following a practice crash. Mir had joined his teammate in securing direct Q2 package.

Luca Marini’s Honda surge could put Joan Mir at risk

Johann Zarco’s LCR bike has fallen behind the factory Honda in terms of specification. He’s received assurances that this will change next year under his new contract.

Zarco won the French GP and is responsible for both of Honda’s podiums this year, but he’s only scored 16 points in the last six rounds, while Marini has surged.

There was talk earlier this year that Zarco could receive a promotion and become Mir’s teammate, but Honda’s three senior riders will stay put. LCR’s Somkiat Chantra is widely expected to lose his seat.

Marini’s deal only runs for one year, while Zarco penned a multi-year contract. As it stands, though, Mir may be vulnerable if Honda sign a superstar rider after a year littered with incidents, albeit not all of them his fault.